Hydrothermal Carbonization of Various Paper Mill Sludges: An Observation of Solid Fuel Properties

Nepu Saha, Akbar Saba, Pretom Saha, Kyle McGaughy, Diana Franqui-Villanueva, William J. Orts, William M. Hart-Cooper and M. Toufiq Reza
Additional contact information
Nepu Saha: Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Akbar Saba: Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Pretom Saha: Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Kyle McGaughy: Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Diana Franqui-Villanueva: USDA-PWA, ARS, WRRC, BCE, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA
William J. Orts: USDA-PWA, ARS, WRRC, BCE, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA
William M. Hart-Cooper: USDA-PWA, ARS, WRRC, BCE, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA
M. Toufiq Reza: Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Each year the pulp and paper industries generate enormous amounts of effluent treatment sludge. The sludge is made up of various fractions including primary, secondary, deinked, fiber rejects sludge, etc. The goal of this study was to evaluate the fuel properties of the hydrochars produced from various types of paper mill sludges (PMS) at 180 °C, 220 °C, and 260 °C. The hydrochars, as well as the raw feedstocks, were characterized by means of ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, moisture, ash, lignin, sugar, and higher heating value (HHV daf ) measurements. Finally, combustion indices of selected hydrochars were evaluated and compared with bituminous coal. The results showed that HHV daf of hydrochar produced at 260 °C varied between 11.4 MJ/kg and 31.5 MJ/kg depending on the feedstock. This implies that the fuel application of hydrochar produced from PMS depends on the quality of feedstocks rather than the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) temperature. The combustion indices also showed that when hydrochars are co-combusted with coal, they have similar combustion indices to that of coal alone. However, based on the energy and ash contents in the produced hydrochars, Primary and Secondary Sludge (PPS 2 ) could be a viable option for co-combustion with coal in an existing coal-fired power plant.

Keywords: primary sludge; secondary sludge; deinked sludge; fiber rejects; hydrochar; combustion indices; fuel properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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